The Board of Aldermen is looking for answers after a year-long wait to set specific policies on how to react in cases of violent incidents in public buildings and schools.

By Jim Clark

A dual set of orders put forward at the latest regular meeting of the Somerville Board of Aldermen called on the Chief of Police, in conjunction with the Administration, advise the Board of the protocol for notifying the public and families when there is an incident in a public building and on specific school-related safety policies and procedures.

Operations Director at Higher Ground Farm Lindsay Allen will be giving a talk on urban gardening at the Somerville Central Library on Thursday, January 24. — Photo courtesy of Higher Ground Farm

By Jared Kimler

The Somerville Central Library will be hosting urban farmer Lindsay Allen for a talk on urban gardening on Thursday, January 24 at 6:00 p.m. Allen is Operations Director at Higher Ground Farm and manages Boston Medical Center’s (BMC) rooftop farm. This is the kickoff event for the library’s Food for Thought initiative.

Pictured above are the Troop 71 St. Clements Boy Scouts singing Christmas Songs in front of Johnnie’s Super Market in Ball Square from around 1965 (courtesy of Jimmy Del Ponte)

 Somerville Heroes by Stephanie Hirsch

The holidays and New Years are a season when many people set goals and reflect on the year passed. In this month’s Somerville Heroes’ column, I’m honoring a few people whose stories inspire me to invite new people into my life in 2019.

Anna and Mike: During the winter holidays, many of us turn inward, to spend time with family or close friends or even in peaceful solitude. However, some people make even the quiet holidays into joyful community holidays. They organize parties or caroling outings, bring Girl Scout troops to nursing homes, or invite people over who are too far from family to travel or who come from a different faith tradition.

Happy birthday this week to several locals: Happy birthday to Katie McDaid, a great lady. We hope she gets her dream back. Happy birthday Katie. Happy birthday to a wonderful lady, retired high school teacher Marion Joyce. We remember her first class, when a lot of boys signed up for typing. She was a great teacher. Happy birthday to Bill Rogers of Winter Hill, a nice guy and we wish him the very best of birthdays. Happy birthday to one of the hardest workers down at the City Club, Don Johnson. To our good friend, James Ribeiro, we wish him a great birthday. Big time happy birthday to Julie Tarpey DiPasquale, who has given many years of service to our community and did it with pride, just like anyone from Somerville would. Happy birthday Julie! Happy birthday to one who grew up here, joined the service and now lives in Texas, Phil Forsyth, a nice guy. He has high standards and his service is well received back here at home. Happy birthday to Donna Desrescente. We wish her her the very best. Big time birthday greetings to our good friend Ken Kotch, who moved to Colorado for his wife’s health and it appears that did the trick. We wish him and his lovely wife – and now getting older daughter – the very best. Happy birthday Kenny! Happy birthday to everyone here and from the city who is celebrating this week. We wish every one of them a very happy birthday.

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers.)

To the editor:

It was exciting to read that Mayor Curtatone prioritized climate change in his mid-term address (“City government roars back into action for 2019 and beyond”). In 2014, Curtatone announced Somerville’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, placing Somerville among the nation’s leaders a year before the Paris Agreement. This was a matter of civic pride for many Somerville residents.

— Photos by Chris Kenney

By Chris Kenney

The Trowel Club, in conjunction with King Solomon’s Lodge, attended Axe Night at the recently opened Urban Axes in Union Square last Thursday Night.

The night was hosted by Zachary Atwell, the Master of King Solomon’s Lodge, and organized by John Kendziersk, while food was prepared Brother Chris Pedersen, a chef at Urban Axes.

Eagle Feathers #170 – Spring Hill

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Spring Hill encompasses some of the most attractive environs in the city with its beautiful Westwood and Benton Road section being uppermost. The Hill gleaned its name from a stream near Summer Street that ran between Lowell and Cedar Streets. Elm Street and Somerville Avenue, which were part of the Revolutionary War “Battle Row,” skirt its base.

*

Review by Zvi A. Sesling
Off the Shelf Correspondent

Flash fiction, micro fiction, prose poetry. Whatever you choose to call it, Michael. C. Keith’s Let Us Now Speak of Extinction is 231 pages of pure enjoyment. His stories, many of which are just a few lines and others less than one page, encompass many scenarios a number of them with ironically humorous endings and titles that he has obviously spent time creating.

*

In this exquisite third book, What I Got For a Dollar, Somerville poet Bert Stern grapples with the elemental and the extraordinary, looking back on the length of his journey and finding realms of possibility, powerful proof of a life well lived. Moments of divine recognition pervade these poems – their rough terrains, their changing atmospheres and stunning grace – culminating in a profound sense of gratitude for the tactile world. Here is a poet writing at the height of his powers.

~Photos by Bobbie Toner

The weekly market, held at the Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave. Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., from December to mid-April, offers the best locally grown and regionally produced agricultural items including vegetable produce, cheese, eggs, meats, fish, breads, pastries, chocolate, and wine. They feature rotating guest vendors each week, as well as live entertainment.